Drawing continuous sheet glass



' tion.

Patented July. 31, 1923.

umrao STATES Parar crema. I

LEONARD D. SOUBIER, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR,BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TQ

THE LIBBEY-OWENS .SHEET GLASS COMPANY, O F TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION'OF OHIO.

DRAWING CONTINUOUS SHEET; GLASS.

- Application sied May 2s, 1921. seal No. 473,535.

I T o all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LEONARD D.v gemalen, a citizen of the UnitedStates,yresiding at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented new and useful Im' rovements in Drawing Continuous Sheet lass,of which the following is a speclica- This invention relates to a newand improved method and apparatus of drawlng sheet Vglass continuouslyfroma bath of molten glass. In previously known' forms of apparatusfordrawing sheet glass, it has been customary to` either( draw n the sheetfrom a shallow pot or receptacle, into which the glass is fed at oneside from a continuous tank furnace, or to draw the. glass directly fromthe ratherdeep body of glass at one end of the supply tank. The presentapparatus combines some of .the better features of both of these formsof apparatus, the sheet being drawn from a shallow segregated mass ofmolten glass, lying directly "within the larger molten mass from whichthe`supply is obtained.

ore specifically a pair of opposing pivoted ypartition members, formingsubstantially the two halvesof a shallow pot or receptacle, are mountedwithin the' molten glass adjacent the rupper surface thereof. Thesemembers may be tilted -or swung about their pivots and also moved bodllytoward or from one another bymeans accessi- 'ble from outside theapparatus, and/in this way the effective depth of the draw-pot is.

adjusted. The supplyof glass to the interior of this shallow pot, flowsup through the vslot -`or passage .between the opposing pivoted members,directly leneath the line of draw of the sheet, thus ifl suring an evenand equal feed tothesheetilom both. sides thereof. At the same time rthewidth or passage may be varied by adjusting the members about theirpivots,

`orvmoving 4them toward or from one another.

yThe specific objects and advantages ofthe invention will. be' moreclearly. understood from the following detailed description of 'certainformsl of apparatus adapted to carry out the' invention.

In the accompanying drawin s:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitu inal section through one form oftheapparatus.

' glass therein .portion 9, side walls 10 and Jto be understood that aFig. 2 is a vertical cross sectlon through 4this apparatus taken line2-2 of Fig.. l.

Fig. 3,' is a partial longitudinal section, similar to Fig. l, of amodified form of thev apparatus.

The molten 2', from any suitable source of as a continuous tank furnace;cle 2 may be made of any convenient or desirable depth, and is, inffact,substantially a continuationfof the tank orreinin chamber 3. .Receptacle2 is surrounded y suitable' heating chambers 4, to keep the molten vatthe proper temperature. sheet 5 is drawn upwardly fromv the molten bathof glass in any vapproved manner. The system indicated in the-drawingsis of the well-known Colburn type, wherein the sheet is drawn. upbetween coolers 6, and edge-forming rolls 7, bent over a cooled bendingr'oll 8,. and carried off horizontally through nism 'and into a leer.merely illustrative, form of sheet drawing mechanism might be used withthe apparatus about tobe described.

The recepta- The glass This system is glass 1, flows into receptaclesupply such substantially on the suitable drawing mechaf as any othersimilar Suspended within the molten glass, near the upper surfacethereof, isa p'air of substantially horizontal partition members 9, ofrefractory material, each comprising a base rear wall 11, thus forming ashallow receptacle with one open end l2. The open ends of the twovmembers are opposed, so that the members when in operative position,form together a substantially enclosed shallow receptacle, with a slotor passage 13 through the bottom thereofat its center.

Each of the members is mounted to swing about alined pivots 14, (onlyone being shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, but it is similar pivot islocated at the other side of the pot).The members 9 -are supported fromthe pivots by bracket extensions 15, which swin clear of the upper edgesof the pot 2. n this way the members swing about axes passingthrough'their lower outer corners orelbows 16. As one means of swingingthe members about theirpivots, cables 17, attached to hooks 18 neartheadjacent ends of tlie members are illustrated in Fig. 1. These cables Imoved bodily ln this form ol the ap' aratus,

As is Well-known in this art, the sides of' the receptacle or containerhave a 20, slidable along chambers Il. -above the glass in thecontainer. Y

- ends 23,

swung downwardly -to increase may be led any 'easily means will beprovided to hold the cables independently at any desired adjustments.By' swinging the members 9 from the position shown in Fig. l, theed'ective depth of the molten glass in the draw receptacle formed bythese members is in creased. At the same time the passage or slot 13,through which the molten glassV flows up into the draw4 pot is decreased. Pivots 14 are carried by brackets slotted supporting rails 2l.By adjusting the positions of brackets 20, the two halves of thecontainer may be toward or from one another, thus varying the width ofpassage 13 at any elevation of the members 9.v ,The glass in the uppershallow container is maintained at the proper temperature by the heatedgases passing through from the tank, and around the end of pot 2 fromheating Eurners'() may also be used In the modified form indicated. inFig. 3, the members 22 are of a substantially arcuate form, beingvpivot'ed at their outer above the glass level, and. their inner ends253: fcrmingthe passage 25 for regulating the upward dow o' the moltenglass. At 26 are indicated metal spiders or frames within thelrefractory' members to support same from the pivots 23. At the sides ofthe draw pct, to the pivot shafts 23,'are connected by turnbucklemechanism 28, whereby the adjustment oi the pivoted members isaccomplished.A

' the end artitions 10,'as shown in iig. l., have been omitted, so thatthe 'glass may flow into the shallow draw-pot at the ends thereof, as

well as through the slot 23. ln this torni. as the members 22 are.

of the apparatus,

the depth of glass in the upper container, the width of passage 25 issimultaneously increased.

'Chilling effect on the molten glassadjacent thereto, and chilling barsare sometimes used beneath the line of draw of the sheet to give lalocalized cooling effect to the molten glass members up at this point.The adjacent inner ends ot' the members 9 or ,22, in the presentapparatus, exert a 'similar cooling eilect on 'the glas, and byadjusting these refractory or clown, and thus bringing their inner endsvycloser to or further 'from the line of draw of the sheet. a variableand easil controlled cooling ell'cct :it this point may eobtained. Alsoby moving;r those mombers toward or from one another, the width ofpassage 13 or 25 may be varied to restrict or increase the flow of hotglass to the draw-l ing pointb By 'varying these adjustments as o' overdirection pulleys 19ste/ accessible point, and suitabley downw ardlywidth of the v through lever arms 27, keyed found desirable thetemperature conditions atthe drawing point, and hence the viscosity ofthe molten glass which is being drawn into the sheet may be. easilycontrolled. Also, since the supply lof hot molten glass is fed to thesheet from directlyfbelow the drawing point, the temperature conditions,and rate of flow from both sides of the sheet will be equaliaed.l

1. ln a sheet 'glass drawing; apparatus, a tank 'containing 'moltenglass, means for 'drawing asheet et lass therefrom, a cone t tainerwithin them en glass for, segregating thatportion of the glass fromwinch the sheet is drawn, said. container having a paesage in'its bottomin approximately the vez'- tical plane in which 'the sheety is drawn,which the glass ows in from the tank, and'means for adjusting the widthof the passage,

'2. ln a sheet glass drawing apparatus, a tanlr containing molten glass,means for drawing a sheet ci lass therefrom, a container within the moten glass `for segregating that portion of the glass from which thesheetisdrawn, the container bein divided, substantiallyin the plane ofthe g ass sheet, intotwo similar sections, and means or bodily movingthesections toward' and from' one another to vary the width of thepassagfe therebetween.

3. ln a sheet glass drawing apparatus, a tank containing molten glass,means for drawing 'a sheet of glass therefrom, a container within themolten glass for segregating that portion et the glassfrom which thesheet is drawn, the container being divided, substantially in the planeo the glass sheet, into two similar sections, the sections being pivotcdadjacent their outer edges to swing about axes substantially parallelwith the line of generation of the sheet.

Il. lin a sheet glass drawing apparatus, a tank containing moltenglass., means for drawings sheet of glass tliererom, a container Withinthe molten glass for segregateing that portion of the glass from whichthe z sheet is drawn, the container being divided, substantially in theplane of the glass sheet, into two similar sections, the sections beingpivoted to swing toward and from one another and vary the width of thepassage therebetween.

5. In a'sheet glass drawing apparatus, a tank containing molten glass,means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, a container within themolten glass for segregatn ing)` that portion of the glass vfrom whichthe sheet is drawn, the container boinc' divided, substantially in theplane of the g ass sheet, into two similar sections, the sections beingi'voted to swin toward or from the surface ot' the molten g' ass, andthus varythe effective depth of the container.

llG

las

container within the molten glass for segregating that portion 'of the mten glass from which the sheet is drawn, the container comprising twoindependent plvoted sections.

7. In a sheet glass drawing apparatus,""a tank containing molten glass,means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, and a pair of movablepartitions within the molten glassvfor directing the flow oglassupwardly to the draw-point in the plane of the glass sheet. y

8. In a sheet glass drawing apparatus, a tank containing molten glass,means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, and a pair of movablepartitions within the molten glass, adjustable toward and from one another, for. directing the flow of glass upwardly to the draw-point inthe plane of the sheet.

9. In a sheetglass drawing apparatus, a tank containing molten glass,means for rdrawing a sheet of glassi therefrom, and a pair of pivotedpartitions withinthemolten glass, for directing the flow of glassupwardly to the draw-point in the plane of the 4,

sheet.

` 10. In a sheet glass drawing apparatus, a tank containing moltenglass, means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom',and a pair ofmovable chilllng bars oindependently adjustable within the molten glassbeneath the line'of draw'of the sheet.

' .11. Ina sheet` glass drawing apparatus, a tank containing vmoltenglass, means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, a container withinthe molten glass 'to segregate'4 ich that portion of the molten glass`from w the sheet is drawn, said container having an adjustable inletpassage to direct the flow of glass in the direction of the draw and tore ulate said flow relative to the draw.

igned at Toledo, in the county'ol Lucas and State or' Ohio, 1921. vLEONARD D. SOUBIER.

this 24th day of May,

